American Tveter To Race In New Zealand

OYSTER BAY, N.Y. — Game Ready, a sports medicine and orthopedic medical device that helps athletes and other patients speed recovery from injury or orthopedic surgery, will join forces with American driver Ryan Tveter for the 2014 Toyota Racing Series (TRS) in New Zealand in January and February.

Tveter, of Oyster Bay, N.Y. and Zurich, Switzerland, will be a member of the multiple championship-winning team Giles Motorsports.

A type of “Winter Training” for young formula car drivers from around the world, the TRS features five weekends of racing with three races each weekend.

It offers something Tveter craves — seat time and tough competition. Many European drivers compete in the series, including some of the ones that Tveter faced this year when he finished ninth out of 40 drivers in his rookie season in the Formula Renault 2.0 Northern European Cup, placing in the top five twice. He will return to European competition in the spring when that continent’s season begins.

At each TRS event there are usually five practice sessions, two qualifying sessions and three races. Practice is held on Thursday and Friday. Qualifying is slated for Saturday morning, with the first race following on Saturday afternoon. Two other races occur on Sunday. It adds up to approximately 1,553 miles of competition and 15 races in just five weeks, as it runs from Jan. 8 through Feb. 9.

The cars are called Toyota FT40s. They’re Tatuus chassis powered by a Toyota 2ZZ-GE, 1,800cc, 215-horsepower engine, which gives them a similar power-to-weight ratio as an F3 car. All the cars use Michelin tires and an ethanol fuel blend.

The schedule begins Jan. 8-12 at Teretonga Park in Invercargill. Round 2 is Jan. 16-19 at Timaru International Raceway in Timaru. Next on the schedule is Highlands Motorsport Park in Cromwell Jan. 23-26. The series then travels to Hampton Downs in Auckland Jan. 30-Feb. 2. It concludes Feb. 6-9 at Manfeild, Feilding.

“Game Ready is very excited to partner with Ryan Tveter for the Toyota Racing Series in New Zealand,” said Craig Grabell, Game Ready’s chief executive officer.

“Ryan is a terrific example of the grit and determination it takes to succeed. No matter how fit the athlete and crew, injuries and strains are inevitable when pushing hard in all sports, especially formula car racing. Motorsports is a market segment where speed and accuracy are vital, and Game Ready’s power to accelerate recovery can really help the athletes, teams, physical trainers and physicians there. Given the opportunity for muscle strain in motorsports, including the hands, the addition of Game Ready’s hand wrap to our extensive line in January dovetails nicely with the timing of the Toyota Racing Series. Ryan’s rapid progression in the sport combined with his professionalism and passion to excel are what caught Game Ready’s attention. We look forward to continuing our growth together.”

“I am really thrilled to be working with Game Ready as a new partner for TRS in New Zealand,” said Tveter. “There is a Game Ready unit in virtually every professional locker room in the United States and many other countries. I think it won’t be long before we see one in every driver and team’s kit as well. Strain injuries that require cold and compression are very common in formula racing and there is not a lot of time between races to recover. Game Ready is a lot easier to use and more effective than icing. It’s also totally portable and flexible, so I can have it anywhere I need from the gym to the paddock. In fact, I will have my unit at TRS if anyone would like to come and see it. The people at Game Ready are as passionate about athletes and sports as they are about medical technology. I am so excited to have them as part of my team.”